Methods Chapter 2/5

Hypotheses state an expected causal relationship between _____ (or more) variables. a. one b. two c. three d. zero e. It really doesn't matter how many variables there are.

b

The final step in deductive theory construction is to: a. identify your concepts. b. reason logically from what is known (data) to your specific topic. c. specify the topic. d. specify the range of phenomena your theory addresses. e. run a data analysis.

b

The paradigm that says that societies developed because the most advanced groups were able to dictate growth and policy is known as a. early positivism. b. social Darwinism. c. ethnomethodology. d. structural functionalism. e. critical race theories.

b

The ____________ paradigm suggests that we define "reality" as that which can be seen to have an effect. a. positivistic b. conflict c. feminist d. critical realism e. critical race

d

The three main elements in the traditional model of science are: a. science, hope, philosophy b. theory, sampling, data analysis c. operationalization, ethics, theory d. theory, operationalization, observation e. philosophy, science, ethics

d

observation that we choose to consider as a reflection of a veriable we witsh to study; attending services is this of religiosity

indicator

allows for the degree of difference between items, but not the ratio between them.

interval measure

Where does operationalization begin and end?

it begins in the design phase and continues through all phases of the project, including analysis.

differentiates between items or subjects based only on their names or (meta-)categories and other qualitative classifications they belong to

nominal measure

specify how variables relevant to a concept will be measured.

operational definitions

specifies the exact procedures that will be used to measure the attributes of variables.

operationalization

possesses a meaningful (unique and non-arbitrary) zero value.

ratio measure

allows for rank order (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) by which data can be sorted

Ordinal measure

36. The first step in conducting research is to: a. pick a topic that interests you. b. develop a hypothesis. c. develop measures for your concepts. d. construct your concepts. e. analyze data.

a

4. The fundamental models or frames of reference we use to organize our observations and reasoning are: a. paradigms. b. theories. c. hypotheses. d. laws. e. concepts.

a

4. Which of the following statements is(are) TRUE? a. Laws are universal generalizations. b. Laws are created by scientists. c. Laws explain the phenomena under study. d. Laws are concerned with accidental patterns. e. Laws are objective and agreed upon by all.

a

Beginning a research study after developing a theory and learning all that is known about it prior to observation is following what logical system? a. deductive theory b. inductive theory c. structural functionalism d. grounded theory e. ethnomethodology

a

Frankie assumed that kids like to be respected by other kids. He then developed a specific testable expectation that boys experience more pressures for delinquency than do girls. This expectation is known as a: a. hypothesis. b. concept. c. variable. d. proposition. e. statement.

a

Matthew is interested in studying why a great number of adolescents across the United States become juvenile delinquents. Given his interests, he will most likely utilize ____________ in conducting his research. a. macrotheory b. microtheory c. Darwinist theory d. inductive theory e. personality theory

a

Maurice has already developed a theory he is interested in, and has moved to defining what independent and dependent variables will be used, and how they will be measure. He is in which phase of research construction? a. operationalization b. hypothesis testing c. observation d. analysis e. composition

a

Roberto wants to study how newly engaged couples communicate with each other. He is particularly interested in how each person defines such symbols as the engagement ring, and how each communicates the relationship to others. Which paradigm would be best? a. symbolic interactionism b. structural functionalism c. conflict d. feminist e. early positivism

a

Which of the following statements about paradigms is FALSE? a. Paradigms are a system of interrelated statements designed to explain some aspect of social life. b. Paradigms are neither true nor false. c. Paradigms provide ways for looking at life. d. Paradigms are grounded in sets of assumptions about the nature of reality. e. Paradigms gain or lose in popularity.

a

Which of the following statements exemplifies a null hypothesis? a. There is no relationship between gender and jury verdicts. b. Men are more likely than women to vote to acquit on juries. c. Women are more likely than men to vote to acquit on juries. d. Men are more likely to create hang juries (juries that cannot arrive at a verdict) than are women. e. All of these choices illustrate the null hypothesis.

a

. Tara is conducting a research study to examine the reasons why white collar criminals are given relatively minor sentences, while street criminals are faced with much more severe penalties, even when the financial damage lower. What paradigm might she be using? a. feminist paradigms b. conflict paradigm c. symbolic interactionism d. ethnomethodology e. social Darwinism

b

29. Dominica observed that President Bush defeated John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. This is a: a. law. b. fact. c. theory. d. concept. e. philosophy.

b

39. Comte believed that science would replace which one of the following by basing knowledge on observations rather than on belief or logic alone? a. metaphysics b. religion c. biology d. history e. psychology

b

7. Which of the following illustrates the use of the inductive method? a. hypothesis, observations, accept or reject hypothesis b. observations, pattern finding, generalizations c. theory, hypothesis, observations, generalizations d. theory, observations, and generalizations e. generalizations, theory, observations

b

8. Fred wants to explain why people get married. Fred's goal is, therefore, to develop a(n) ________ about marriage. a. paradigm b. theory c. axiom d. null hypothesis e. hypothesis

b

A researcher who defines "elite families" as those with annual incomes larger than $250,000 has __________ this concept. a. defined b. operationalized c. described d. created a marker for e. theorized

b

Bob is interested in studying why his adolescent cousin Alex and his neighborhood friends became juvenile delinquents. Given his interests, he will most likely utilize __________ in conducting his research. a. macrotheory b. microtheory c. Darwinist theory d. inductive theory e. conflict theory

b

Which of the following topics would a macrotheorist be more likely to study than a microtheorist? a. the effect of judge's instructions on jury deliberation b. international relations among countries c. the grandparent-grandchild relationship d. student-faculty interactions e. dating behavior among students at Everywhere University

b

Who was an early theorist concerned with how individuals interacted with one another? a. Durkheim b. Simmel c. Mead d. Spencer e. Weber

b

20. The Minamata disease, a disease which produced severe nervous disorders and birth defects, was traced to the fact that the Chisso Chemical Company dumped mercury into a bay where Japanese villagers fished. The villagers of Minamata, the village in which the company was located, refused to become involved in lawsuits with the chemical company for many years. However, the residents of Niigata, a fishing village forty miles up the river from the factory, filed lawsuits against the chemical company. Which of the following explanations flows from the conflict paradigm in attempting to explain the differences in lawsuits between the two villages? a. The Minamata victims were less likely to be tied socially, economically, and physically to the company than were the Niigata victims. b. The Japanese culture frowns on lawsuits. c. The chemical company controlled more of the village resources in Minamata than in Niigata. d. People in Niigata are not as nice as people in Minamata. e. None of these choices are correct.

c

5. In a study of women, the following notation was used: Y = f(X) where Y represented number of live births and X represented occupational prestige scores. This notation represents a. the number of live births that are a cause of occupational prestige scores. b. the occupational prestige scores that are a cause of the number of live births. c. a hypothesis that indicates that the number of live births are a function of (or are affected by) occupational prestige scores. d. a hypothesis that indicates that occupational prestige scores are a function of (or are affected by) number of live births. e. none of the above

c

5. Which one of the following statements best summarizes the role of deduction and induction? a. Deduction is the preferred approach. b. Induction is the preferred approach. c. In practice, scientific inquiry involves an alternation between deduction and induction. d. In practice, scientific inquiry involves primarily one or the other approach. e. In practice, scientific inquiry involves the use of both at the same time.

c

According to the traditional model of science, scientists begin with: a. a concept or two. b. data. c. a theory. d. a hypothesis. e. literature review.

c

Cooley's "looking-glass self," which states that the characteristics that we attribute to ourselves are the same ones that we believe others attribute to us, is an example of the ________________ paradigm. a. social Darwinism b. conflict c. symbolic interactionism d. ethnomethodology e. structural functionalism

c

Morse wants to study the role of religion in society—how it gives societies a focus; how it gives meaning to unexplainable events; and how it often connects with the political and economic institutions. Which paradigm would be best to describe this study? a. feminist b. ethnomethodology c. structural functionalism d. symbolic interactionism e. critical religion theory

c

The __________ paradigm focuses on the attempt of individuals and groups to dominate others and to avoid being dominated. a. positivistic b. social Darwinist c. conflict d. feminist e. critical race

c

The idea that knowledge is based on observation made through one of the five senses rather than on belief or logic alone is termed a. social Darwinism. b. conflict theory. c. positivism. d. structural functionalism. e. microtheory.

c

The research paradigm that is based upon the notion that nothing has an objective meaning in society, but granted meaning by people agreeing upon things is: a. conflict paradigm b. critical race c. symbolic interactionism d. feminist paradigms

c

Which one of the following is the best example of a hypothesis? a. Students do not like to study. b. Conflict underlies every type of social relation. c. Older people vote more conservatively than do younger people. d. Love is measured by how often people call each other. e. Juvenile delinquency is a social problem.

c

While doing research on crime, Professor Middler notes that crime creates jobs in law enforcement and related careers. He also notices that crime reinforces community norms when criminals are caught and punished. Professor Middler has probably adopted a(n) _______ approach to the study of crime. a. conflict theory b. social Darwinism c. structural functionalism d. ethnomethodology e. symbolic interactionism

c

Who first coined the term "sociology"? a. Durkheim b. Marx c. Comte d. Mead e. Weber

c

testing potential question, in an interview setting, probing to learn how respondents understand or interpret the questions

cognitive interviewing

process of coming to agreement about what terms mean; mental images we use as summary devices for bringing together observations and experiences that see to have something in common; we use terms and labels to reference

conception

result or family of a conception; represents the whole class of agreed upon markings we assign to terms

concepts

he process of specifying observations and measurements that give concepts definite meaning for the purposes of a research study; it includes specifying the indicators of a concept and describing its dimensions.

conceptualization

the degree to which a test measures what it claims, or purports, to be measuring

construct validity

refers to the extent to which a measure represents all facets of a given social construct.

content validity

a measure of how well one variable or set of variables predicts an outcome based on information from other variables

criterion related validity

. Which one of the following is NOT a function of theories? a. They prevent our being taken in by flukes. b. They make sense of observed patterns to suggest other possibilities. c. They shape and direct research efforts. d. They help identify the more appropriate ways to view the world. e. They provide a paradigm for future research.

d

12. A sociologist with a symbolic interactionist orientation would be MOST likely to do research on which of the following question(s)? a. Is conflict inevitable between political parties? b. What function does marriage serve for society? c. What is the effect of economic conditions on the crime rate? d. Which unstated norms govern the interactions between family members? e. All of these choices are equally likely to be researched by a symbolic interactionist.

d

26. The first step in constructing a theory through the inductive method is to: a. develop measures. b. develop hypotheses. c. develop a sample. d. observe some segment of social life. e. do a literature review.

d

Frankie began his theorizing on delinquency in schools by stating that he takes it to be true that kids like to be respected by other kids. He then goes on to develop some testable relationships between delinquency and gender. His assumption that kids like to be respected is known as a(n): a. variable. b. hypothesis. c. proposition. d. axiom. e. statement.

d

Freda developed a theory and a hypothesis about adjustment to retirement as related to gender. She constructed measures for adjustment to retirement. The next step for Freda according to the traditional model of science is: a. to consider the ethics of the study. b. redevelop the theory. c. analyze the data. d. observation (gathering data). e. conduct a literature review.

d

Grounded Theory a. is the only element necessary for accurate research. b. should always come before empirical research. c. requires significant amounts of preparation and theory development before beginning d. is an inductive method of theory construction that requires the researcher to begin constructing theory by first observing aspect of social life. e. is a deductive method of theory construction that requires the researcher to begin constructing theory by first observing aspect of social life.

d

Modesto was concerned that many respected theories of stratification were based on data about men. She wanted to examine the causes and consequences of class among women, with a particular focus on how stratification systems often oppress women. Which paradigm would be best? a. symbolic interactionism b. structural functionalism c. conflict d. feminist e. early positivism

d

Operationalizing a concept refers to a. clarifying the meaning of the concept. b. specifying how a concept is related to other concepts. c. interpreting the results from the study of a concept. d. selecting indicators to measure the concept. e. comparing one concept to another.

d

Studying society as a system of interconnected components, such as examining the relationship between police, the courts, and the correctional system in criminal justice, is taking which kind of approach? a. ethnomethodology b. critical race theory c. symbolic interactionism d. structural functionalism e. early positivism

d

Which one of the following adapted Darwin's idea of survival of the fittest to societies and believed that society was getting better and better? a. Durkheim b. Marx c. Mead d. Spencer e. Weber

d

Distressed by his adolescent cousin's acts of delinquency, Bob decides to research why some adolescents become delinquents. He conducts ____________ research. a. conflict b. feminist c. deductive d. paradigm e. inductive

e

precise definitions are more important in what type of study

descriptive

a specifiable aspect of a concept; religiosity could have a belief one, a ritual one, a knowledge one, and so forth

dimension

13. Walking with an open umbrella on a beautiful day or using hands to eat mashed potatoes are techniques used by ______ to understand the social world. a. social Darwinists b. conflict theorists c. structural functionalists d. symbolic interactionists e. ethnomethodologists

e

16. Axioms are a. hypotheses. b. results of research. c. assumed to be true. d. concepts. e. fundamental assertions on which theory is grounded that are assumed to be true.

e

2. Which of the following outlines the steps in the traditional deductive model? a. theoretical expectation, testable hypothesis, operationalization of concepts, observations b. operationalization of concepts, theoretical expectation, testable hypothesis, observations c. operationalization of concepts, testable hypotheses, observations, theoretical expectation d. observations, theoretical expectation, operationalization of concepts, testable hypothesis e. theoretical expectation, operationalization of concepts, testable hypothesis, observations

e

3. Which of the following is NOT a function of theory for research? a. Theory helps to prevent our being taken in by flukes. b. Theory helps us to explain occurrences. c. Theory helps us to make sense out of observed patterns. d. Theory shapes and directs research efforts. e. All of these choices ARE functions of theory for research.

e

6. Which of the following statements about paradigms is FALSE? a. Paradigms shape the kinds of observations we are likely to make. b. Paradigms determine the kinds of facts we will discover. c. Paradigms shape the conclusions that we draw from facts. d. Paradigms determine whether we look at micro or macro concerns. e. All of these choices are TRUE about paradigms,

e

9. Professor May wants to learn how grandparents define their role when they become the guardians of their grandchild. May asks grandparents questions like, "How did you come to have custody of your grandchild?" and "Do you feel more like a parent or a grandparent?" Which of the following paradigms is May probably using? a. conflict theory b. social Darwinism c. structural functionalism d. ethnomethodology e. symbolic interactionism

e

a trend or fact, that indicates the state or level of something

indicator

Jeremy attended a chamber music concert. During one of the movements he jumped up and yelled "Way to go, violin!" Later he screamed "Come on, cello! You can do it!" As a social science student, you conclude that Jeremy was probably doing research using a(n) a. conflict paradigm. b. critical race theory paradigm. c. symbolic interactionist paradigm. d. structural functional paradigm. e. ethnomethodology paradigm.

e

The hypothesis that no relationship exists among the variables being studied is known as the a. experimental hypothesis. b. alternative hypothesis. c. effect hypothesis. d. proven hypothesis. e. null hypothesis.

e

the extent to which a test is subjectively viewed as covering the concept it purports to measure. It refers to the transparency or relevance of a test as it appears to test participants.

face validity

yardsticks for assessing a measure's validity include:

face validity, criterion-related validity, construct validity, and content validity.

When in doubt, researchers should use the ___________of measurement possible. Why?

highest level, so they can capture the greatest amount of information

these are the steps of ___________: specifying the range of variation that is appropriate, determining how precisely to measure, accounting for dimensions of variables, defining the attributes of variables and their relationships, and deciding on an appropriate level of measurement.

operationalization

criteria of the quality of measures

precision, accuracy, reliability, and validity

getting consistent results from the same measure

reliability

Administering a test to a group of individuals, Splitting the test in half, Correlating scores on one half of the test with scores on the other half of the test, correlation between these two split halves is used in estimating the reliability of the test

split half method

Our concepts don't exist in the real world, so they can't be measured directly, but..... it's possible to measure the things that these _____________

summarize

the variation in measurements taken by a single person or instrument on the same item and under the same conditions.

test retest method

Four ways researchers can improve the reliability of their measures

test-retest method, the split-half method, the use of established measures, and the examination of work performed by research workers.

Best way to preserve richness of meaning of general concepts?

using several different measures

getting results that accurately reflect the concept being measured

validity